Kuantan, Malaysia, 25 October 2016: India beat China 9-0 in their Asian Champions Trophy group stage encounter today.

India were completely dominant in the first quarter, pressing high and hard at the Chinese defence constantly. They held most of the possession and were constantly making forays into the Chinese circle, albeit with little success.

Midway through the quarter though, a loose back pass from Meng Dihao was picked up by Akashdeep Singh and the midfielder kept his cool, cutting past China’s last defender and then reverse hitting his shot perfectly to give India the lead. It was a lead they held on to as they went into the first break.

Akashdeep was back in the centre of it all again for the second goal in the 19th minute, collecting a pass from SK Uthappa before playing it through to Affan Yousuf in the circle. Affan made no mistake, opening his body to guide the ball into the bottom  corner and double India’s lead.

The wet and slippery conditions made defending difficult for both teams and it was China who paid the price; a defensive lapse allowing Jasjit Singh to surge through into the circle to drive in India’s third.

India’s first PC came in the 25th minute and Rupinder Pal Singh was inch perfect again, scoring his eight goal of the tournament and increasing India’s lead to four as they went into half time.

If India’s dominant passing and possession was a feature in first half, they decided to showcase their finishing skills in the third quarter, putting four goals past China in the fifteen minutes after half time. The rout started early, Nikkin Thimmaiah scoring in the 34th minute, after a neat swerve and flick finish. Lalit Upadhyay (37′), Akashdeep Singh (39′) and Affan Yousuf (40′) scored at intervals to take India into the final break with an 8-0 lead.

China had their chances too, winning two PCs in the quarter, but both were expertly parried away by Akash Chikte, to ensure India kept a clean sheet in the game.

In the final quarter India were content with passing the ball around neatly in their own area, switching flanks with ease. Jasjit Singh added a second to his tally in the 51st minute, as India ran out clear winners.

India will be in action against Malaysia on October 26, 2016. The match will be shown LIVE on Star Sports 4/HD4 & Hotstar at 6:00 PM IST.

Delhi, 21 October 2016: India’s Women team departed today for the Asian Champions Trophy in Singapore starting from 29^th October 2016.

The squad, which has been training at the SAI centre in Bhopal will be led by forward Vandana Katariya at the tournament.

The tournament features the continent’s five best teams—Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia and India following a round-robin format, followed by the bronze and gold medal matches.

Besides Katariya, defenders Sunita Lakra, Namita Toppo and midfielder Rani Rampal will add the experience to the squad.

Speaking about their departure for the tournament, coach Neil Hawgood said, “After the Olympics, this is a key step to ensure we are in good form, and as a team we can keep improving our standards constantly. We have had a good training camp and are now looking forward to do well in the Asian Champions Trophy.”

The matches will be streamed live on Singapore Hockey’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCYmf5v1YVNk0MzIjuB7i6YA

Perth, Australia, 7 October 2016: India went down 4-3 in a penalty shoot out to the Victoria Vikings in their Semi Final match at the AHL today. The juniors had stormed back from a 3-0 deficit courtesy of a Varun Kumar hat trick to take the game to a shootout after regulation time.

The two teams were the ones with the strongest defences in the pool stages, India conceding 7 goals, and Victoria 9. The first quarter was played out to their strengths, both teams organising themselves tightly in the defensive areas, and controlling and cancelling each others midfields.

Locked in the stalemate after the first quarter, the Vikings were the ones to score through, Chris Ciriello converting a PC in the 20th minute to take the lead. Two minutes later Aaron Kleinschmidt took advantage of a goalmouth melee to double the lead.

India had a PC in the quarter but Varun Kumar’s flick was smartly parried away by Durst Johan in the Vikings goal. The chance gave the Indian Juniors confidence, and they stormed back into the game, taking control and creating a lot of penetrations into the Victoria circle. They lacked the final pass though as Victoria’s defence held firm to deny them an opening.

In the final minutes of the quarter, Ciriello scored his second PC of the game to give Victoria a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.

India had several chances to pull a goal back in the third quarter, attacking and controlling the game in the midfield. A brilliant passing move at the top of the Victorian circle saw Ajit Pandey drag his shot high. Minutes later Durst was in action again, Pulling off a smart save from Anand Lakra’s bursting run and shot from the top of the circle. Off the rebound, Durst smothered Parvinder Singh’s shot illegally. India had a PC. Victoria saved the first PC, but were penalised with another. Varun Kumar missed his drag flick but improvised with the loose ball to score and open India’s account in the game.

The teams went into the final break trailing 3-1.

Simranjeet Singh’s green card early in the final quarter handed India a disadvantage, but it didn’t matter as they pushed forward in search of goals to get back in the game. Armaan Qureshi came closest picking up a pass from Dipsan Tirkey inside the circle and turning to shoot wide.

With six minutes of the game left, India won a PC and this time Varun didn’t need a second invitation, dragging his shot perfectly into the bottom left corner, to reduce the margin to one goal.

With the momentum having shifted, India started pushing for the equaliser and won another PC in the 56th minute. Varun made no mistake, slotting it into the bottom corner again to drag India level. The game was for the taking.

Victoria went a man down in the final minutes courtesy Tim Cross’s yellow card and the juniors made the most of the numerical advantage, constantly attacking the Vikings circle. With a minute to go, Harjeet Singh had a shot from the top of the box, but Durst parried it away. It was to be the final bit of action as the two teams went into a shootout for a place in the finals.

In the shootout, the Vikings held strong missing a single chance of their five, and winning by the narrowest of margins to take their place in the finals.

India will be playing for the Bronze medal on 9 October 2016 at 07.30 hrs IST.

Bengaluru, 6 October 2016: Hockey India today announced the squad for the fourth edition of the Asian Champions Trophy organized by the Asian Hockey Federation which will be held in Kuantan, Malaysia, starting 20 October 2016.

The 18-member squad will be led by goalkeeper P.R Sreejesh while 24-year-old midfielder Manpreet Singh will be his deputy for the tournament.

Defender Jasjit Singh Kular, from India’s hockey hub Sansarpur, finds himself in the squad and will be expected to double-up as drag flicker in place of V R Raghunath who is rested for the tournament. Making a strong comeback after a long lay-off due to injury is Birendra Lakra, who showed his prowess in the recently held Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup in Bhopal and the MCC-Murugappa Cup in Chennai. He will form India’s defence along with the experienced Rupinder Pal Singh, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar and Pardeep Mor.

While the midfield line-up remains unchanged, the forwardline will miss Akashdeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh. The duo will be replaced by Talwinder Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

Scheduled two months after the Olympic Games, the men’s Asian Champions Trophy will see India, Korea, Japan, China and hosts Malaysia challenge defending champions Pakistan. “The Asian Champions Trophy is an important tournament for us and going by the world rankings, India will go in as favourites to win the title. The team has been upbeat since their return to the camp after the Olympic Games and are eager to start the season on a winning note,” expressed Roelant Oltmans, Chief Coach India Men Hockey Team and Director High Performance.

Meanwhile, Captain P.R Sreejesh emphasised on playing with caution. “We may be the top ranked team in Asia right now but no team can be taken lightly. The defending Champions (Pakistan) are known to spring a surprise and Korea too will be a team to watch out for as they have been playing good quality hockey lately,” stated the goalkeeper.

Squad: 
Goalkeepers
1. P.R Sreejesh (Captain)
2. Akash Chikte

Defenders
3. Rupinder Pal Singh
4. Pardeep Mor
5. Jasjit Singh Kular
6. Birendra Lakra
7. Kothajit Singh
8. Surender Kumar

Midfielders
9. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
10. Manpreet Singh (Vice Captain)
11. Sardar Singh
12. S.K Uthappa
13. Devindar Walmiki

Perth, 2 October 2016: India’s Junior team and Canberra Lakers played a tough 1-1 draw in their Pool B game of the AHL today.

In a fairly slow start, the two teams interchanged possession in midfield without giving each other any real chances for goal. India came closest with a PC in the 8^thminute, which was saved. In the final minute of the first quarter, Ajit Pandey scored to give the Juniors the lead.

Canberra Lakers came out quick at the start of the second quarter, and soon enough had a PC, converted by Stuart Shepherd in the 17^th minute to draw them level. The teams went into halftime level at 1-1.

In the third quarter India were the ones who played with greater urgency, controlling the midfield and shuttling the ball across the flanks much better. Almost at the end of the quarter, they had their opportunity with a second PC, saved by Brendan Hill in the Lakers goal.

Coming out into the final quarter on level terms, India were the ones looking for the win, Canberra happy to sit back, soak the pressure and work on the counter. The Juniors had a PC early in the quarter but were denied by Hill in goal, again.

With less than two minutes to play, India had another PC, but were denied this time by the first runner. It was to be the final bit of goalmouth action from either side as the game ended with them splitting the points.

India play Tassie Tigers in their next Pool B encounter onOct 3 at 1230hrs IST.

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 30 September 2016: Abhishek‘s last minute strike gave India a 5-4 victory in their final game against the hosts Bangladesh at the U18 Men’s Asia Cup.

In what was almost a replay of the opener, the two teams treat the fans to a thrilling nine-goal encounter, India triumphing in the end to be crowned Champions.

India were the ones with the quicker start, and rotating the ball patiently between themselves as they searched for an opening. Bangladesh had been devastating on the counter against India in their previous encounter, and perhaps keeping that in mind, India didn’t commit forward in numbers, instead building up play carefully, before penetrating the circle.

The approach paid off as they won their first PC in the 6^th minute. After an initial error, India recovered and improvised to take a shot on goal, but the attempt ran wide.

The game dropped into a predictable rhythm, India holding the possession while Bangladesh waited for the counter. From a counter, Bangladesh won a PC, and after the initial save by Pankaj Kumar Rajak, M Roman Sarkar scored to give the hosts the lead.

Almost from the restart though India equalised. Shivam Anand picked up a pass on the edge of the circle and cut back in, running past two Bangladesh defenders to execute a perfect reverse flick into the net. India were level.

India had another PC in the final minute of play, but another error denied them a goal. From a counter Bangladesh ran through the midfield, before a cross from the left found Mohammad Mohsin who deflected the ball to give Bangladesh the lead. It was virtually the last play of the half, the hosts walking into the break with a 2-1 lead.

India hit back after half time to level the scores, via Hardik Singh’s PC before Dilpreet Singh scored to give them the lead. In a topsy turvy game, almost a copy of their opening game encounter Bangladesh equalised with Mohammed Ashraful Islam in the 60^th minute.

With the scores tied and the threat of a shootout looming, Ibungo Singh Konjengbam fired India back in front. The hosts weren’t to be denied though, Mahabub Hossain levelling the score after a quick counter in the 64^th minute.

India would break their hearts though, and in the process exact revenge with almost the final play of the tournament. A quick counter would see Abhishek in the box and his deflection with seconds to the hooter, took India to the title. Hardik Singh was named the Man of the Match. Pankaj Kumar Rajak was named the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

Perth, Australia, 29 September 2016: India’s Junior Men team took on the Malaysian Blues in the Australian Hockey League today, beating them 4-2 in a high quality encounter.

It was the Malaysian Blues who were quicker off the blocks from the hooter, pressuring India into defensive positions. They won their first PC of the game in the fourth minute and were quick to score off it, Faizal Saari with the conversion to give them the lead.

India gathered momentum quickly enough after that though and had a shot on goal saved. A subsequent PC was also saved by Mohd Hafizuddin Othman in goal for the Malaysian team. Off the counter, Malaysian hit back with a quick counter, winning a PC. India defended the attempt strongly though to deny them another breakthrough. Despite several more turnovers, and another PC for India, it was Malaysia who went into the first break with a one-goal advantage.

India started off stronger in the second quarter, and were suddenly the ones dictating the tempo of the play. After a long spell of possession, a PC opportunity presented itself. Varun Kumar’s drag flick was saved on the line, but from the rebound Armaan Qureshi was the quickest to react, driving it into goal to draw India level.

The equaliser shifted the momentum completely, a greater urgency creeping into India’s game. Suddenly they were pressing high, and passing and moving faster, the Malaysian Blues rattled by the shift. The relentless pressure paid off within minutes as India created another PC. This time there was no denying Varun, whose high flick into the top corner beat the man at the post to give India the lead. The scores stayed the same for the rest of the quarter, India taking a 2-1 lead into halftime.

The break was supposed to be a breather for the Malaysian Blues to recuperate and recover. India banished any such notions immediately though, Gurjant Singh’s deflection extending the lead. India kept up the pressure through the quarter, with over committing themselves. With the Malaysians now the ones looking for a goal, India looked to attack on the counter and finish the game of. In the 42^nd minute, they got the chance, Armaan the initiator and the finisher capped off a brilliant sweeping move, for his second and India’s fourth of the game. India went into the final break leading 4-1.

Malaysia scored through another PC conversion by Saari in the fourth quarter and were on the front foot for the final minutes of play. But the comeback was not to be as India held on strong to take the victory and their first points in the competition.

India play South Australia in their next Pool B encounter on30 September 2016 at 15.30hrs IST.

Dhaka, Bangladesh, 29 September 2016: India’s U18 Asia Cup Boys’ team beat Pakistan 3-1 in a high intensity Semi Final encounter today.

India were the first ones to dent the scoreboard Shivam Anand scoring in the 7^th minute to give them the lead. Both teams had scored a high number of goals in the group stage so an attacking encounter was expected. The teams did not disappoint. Through the half they attacked each other furiously. It was India who were more clinical in front of the goal, and three minutes from the end of the half they doubled their lead with a PC goal by Dilpreet Singh.

The second half had a similar start to the first, India on the ascendancy, controlling possession and applying the pressure. Soon enough they won a PC, and from the flick, a foul gave them a stroke. Waqar in Pakistan’s goal saved the stroke to keep his side in the game. Within minutes though, the third goal arrived, Nilam Sanjeep Xess scoring another PC to give India a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Pakistan soon started capitulating under the pressure, and two of their players were penalised for technical fouls in the latter stages of the game. They managed to grab a goal back in the 63^rd minute, but it proved to be too little too late as India held on to take a 3-1 victory.

Kunwardilraj Singh was adjudged the Man of the Match.

India will be in action in the Final of the U18 Men Asia Cup against Bangladesh tomorrow, 30 September 2016 at 14.30hrs IST.

India began their campaign in a dismal manner as they lost to Bangladesh 4-5 in ongoing 4^th Boys’ Under-18 Asia Cup in Dhaka.

Drag flick specialist Ashraful Islam netted four goals for Bangladesh to give 3 vital points to the host in the first match of group A. India earned their first penalty corner in the 20th minute but Silpreet Singh’s shot couldn’t trouble Bangladesh defense. The Indians, who won the inaugural Asia Cup in 2001, equalized a minute later after Dharminder Singh calmly sent the ball into the net from a penalty stroke. But host rattles India every time as they won against higher ranked team.

In another match, Pakistan defeated Chinese Taipei by 6-1, and China triumphs over Hing Kong by 6-0 in Groupo B match.

Tomorrow India will be playing against Oman in a must-win encounter.

23 September 2016, Bangalore: With a little less than three months to go for the Uttar Pradesh FIH Junior Men World Cup to be held in Lucknow from 8 – 18 December 2016, the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team Coach Harendra Singh asserts that this team is the fittest bunch he has seen in over a decade. “We are in the final stages of our preparations and I can confidently say that we are on the right track. I have coached three junior World Cup teams and I can say that this team is the fittest and also mentally very tough,” stated Harendra Singh today ahead of the team’s departure to Perth, Australia where they will represent India for the first time in the Australian Hockey League (AHL).

According to Harendra Singh, the exposure at the AHL will help them assess where the team stands ahead of the World Cup and also give them enough time to fine tune in the areas they are lacking. “In the AHL, we are in Pool B which has Western Australia and they are a very strong team. We also play Tasmania who will be looking at using AHL as a platform to prove their might. Playing against these teams will show us where we stand and whether we are lacking in any areas. Malaysia and New Zealand is also playing in the AHL so I see this as a very important tournament in the lead up to the World Cup. We will have Director High Performance and Indian Men Hockey Team Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans traveling with us and we will closely monitor every player and his performance here,” Harendra Singh said.

After AHL, the team will play a 4-Nations Hockey Tournament in Valencia, Spain and Harendra Singh feels this will be the real test for the players who will be pitted against some of the best European teams. “From my assessment of watching these players over the past two-and-a-half years I feel this team has great capacity to beat the best teams in the world. We have used some rigorous training methods over the past two-and-a-half years and have emphasized on match preparations not just tactically and technically but also mentally. In Valencia we will get to see how the players cope with the pressure of playing the European teams,” he added.

Moving forward, Harendra Singh is confident that post the World Cup some of these junior players will push to earn a spot in the senior team, thus increasing the competition and also will help create the next pool of players. “I feel we are in the best phase of hockey in India. Both senior men’s and junior men’s teams have shown great potential. Post the World Cup in December, I feel there will be a handful of players who will be pushing for a spot in the senior team and the seniors will have to really show their worth to hold their current spot. I think this will ensure healthy competition in the future and there are already four players from the junior squad that have played in the senior team including Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Harjeet Singh and Vikas Dahiya,” Singh signed off on a positive note.

Bengaluru, 22 September, 2016: Back in the national camp after a four-week break since the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team is upbeat and have now shifted focus to the new season which starts with the Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia where they will meet arch rivals Pakistan. “The mood in the team is very good and the players have moved on from their quarterfinal loss against Belgium. They don’t have bitter feelings about the Olympics because now they know they are on par with top teams in the world and they are often complimented by hockey lovers not just from India but around the globe for how they played at the Olympics. Though we were not happy with the result,” stated Roelant Oltmans, Chief Coach India Men Hockey Team and Director High Performance.

The selection trials to pick the team for Asian Champions Trophy and Australia Tour will be held on Friday at the SAI, South Centre in Bengaluru. The team will also be put through a rigorous fitness test. “For the senior team they have a busy schedule with the Asian Champions Trophy and Australia Tour then the Coal India Hockey India League, where as the juniors will play in the Australian Hockey League, Spain 4-Nations Tournament and then the Uttar Pradesh FIH Junior Men World Cup in Lucknow in December. It’s only in March that we will look at having a strong pool of probables which will have quite a few junior players who can be potential players for the 2020 Olympics and even the World Cup in 2018,” said Oltmans, who will join the junior team for the Australian Hockey League (AHL) starting 29 September 2016.

In his absence, the camp will be spearheaded by fellow Dutchman and Strategic Coach Roger van Gent who will be assisted by Tushar Khandker.

“The focus during this month-long camp will be to bring about variations in the midfield and forward line structure. Of course fitness too will be a priority. We have shown in the past one year that we are as good as any other top team in the world but we need to bring in consistency and create results that are in our favour. That’s the key and we need to work on it,” Oltmans added.

New Delhi, 21st September 2016: The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team is geared up to participate in the star-studded Australian Hockey League (AHL) starting September 29th in Perth.

The team will be led by Harjeet Singh and Dipsan Tirkey will shoulder the responsibility of the Vice Captain. Defender Vikas Dahiya, who was stand-by goalkeeper for PR Sreejesh at the Rio Olympics will also feature in the Team.

The strong defence line-up will include Varun Kumar, Gurinder Singh and Vikramjit Singh, while Nilakanta Sharma, Harjeet Singh, Santa Singh, Sumit and Manpreet will form the midfield. The forward line will be led by the talented Mandeep Singh whose performance at the FIH Champions Trophy earlier this year was lauded and will also include Armaan Qureshi, Gurjant Singh, Parvinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Ajit Kumar Pandey vying to get goals to their names.
This will be the first time international teams from India, Malaysia and New Zealand will be seen in the Australian Hockey League. There will be 12 teams in the tournament including defending champions Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, Malaysian Tigers, Malaysian Blues and New Zealand Futures. As the country’s premier domestic hockey tournament, the AHL sees a wide range of top class athletes – including players from the Kookaburras take to the field to compete for their home State or Territory.

“Ahead of the upcoming Junior World Cup to be held in India in December 2016, this is will a very good exposure event for our boys. This is the first time we have been invited for the AHL and we hope to make the best use of the opportunity,” stated Harendra Singh, Indian Junior Men Hockey Team Coach.

Team:
Goalkeepers: Vikas Dahiya, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey (Vice Captain), Gurinder Singh, Vikramjit Singh, Anand Lakra
Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Harjeet Singh (Captain), Santa Singh, Sumit, Manpreet
Forwards: Armaan Qureshi, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Parvinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Ajit Kumar Pandey

The open match of the tournament on 29 September 2016 will feature India Junior Men Hockey Team up against the Malaysian Blues. Attached is a copy of the match schedule. The matches can also be seen via live stream on www.Epicentre.tv  for two days of the competition – Friday 7th and Sunday 9th October – showing eight finals matches; the men’s and women’s semi-finals, bronze medal and goal medal games.

Bhopal, 17 September 2016: After their first Olympic appearance in 36 years, the Indian women’s hockey core probables will regroup for the national camp in Bhopal starting 18 September 2016.

Bengaluru, 16 September 2016: After finishing eighth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Indian senior men’s hockey team will return to the national camp starting 18 September 2016 ahead of an all-important season. The three-week camp will set momentum for the 4th Men’s Asian Champions Trophy slated to begin in Malaysia next month where India go in as favourites.

The camp will include 26 core probable players including skipper PR Sreejesh, Sardar Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Surender Kumar, Abhinav Kumar Pandey, Akash Chikte, Rupinder Pal Singh, Pardeep Mor, Jasjit Singh Kular, Birendra Lakra, Satbir Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Talwinder Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mohd. Amir Khan, Affan Yousuf, Manpreet Singh, VR Raghunath, SV Sunil, Devindar Walmiki, Nikkin Thimmaiah, SK Uthappa, Kothajit Singh and Ramandeep Singh

The camp will be four weeks and will focus on fitness, skill, tactics and also introspecting on the challenges that faced the team during the Rio Olympics.

“This camp is crucial as we prepare for some major tournaments starting with the Asian Champions Trophy in Kuantan, Malaysia where we will meet arch rivals Pakistan among other top teams. There are some areas we would specifically like to focus on and experiment with different tactics in terms of creating field goals and also earning PCs. We will be touring Australia in November and hope to carry the good form Down Under. The next two years for Indian hockey is crucial with the upcoming Hockey World Cup in India in 2018. All the tournaments we would play in the lead up will only help prepare us for the big event,” stated Chief Coach Roelant Oltmans.